


The Queerest of Folk

by Ink_Gypsy



Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Frodo Baggins & Samwise Gamgee - Freeform, Gen, The Baggins Birthday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-09-22
Packaged: 2020-10-26 10:23:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20740679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ink_Gypsy/pseuds/Ink_Gypsy
Summary: When Sam asks to visit Bag End, the Gaffer tries to teach his son a lesson and ends up learning one himself.





	The Queerest of Folk

**Author's Note:**

> Written 09/22/19 for The Baggins Birthday.

Now that his chores were done, young Samwise Gamgee asked his father if he might go to Bag End to visit with the Bagginses. Of course the answer was no. Sam had gone to Bag End many times, but it had been to work in the garden beside his father, not to socialize with his betters.

Mr. Bilbo often asked Hamfast Gamgee if his son could stay behind after his work was done, and not wanting to insult his employer, the Gaffer had agreed. He imagined Mr. Bilbo would find some small chore for the lad to do inside, which would be paid for with a honey cake or some other sweet. Mrs. Gamgee saw no harm in it, but the Gaffer disapproved. Still, you didn’t go against the wishes of your betters, especially those who paid your wages. But for young Samwise to ask to go visiting on other than a workday, like polite company? That he would not stand for.

So when Sam asked to go to Bag End uninvited, the Gaffer decided to tell his son the cold, hard truth about his lot in life. “Do you think the likes of the Bagginses would want to spend time with you outside of your work time?” he asked. “Do you think gentle hobbits like Mr. Bilbo and Master Frodo think of you as anything but hired help? If you was to go visiting without an invitation you’d be insulting Mr. Bilbo and lose your Pa his job. Is that what you want?”

Sam shook his head. That was the last thing he wanted, but he knew Mr. Bilbo would never fire his father. He wanted to tell the Gaffer that Mr. Bilbo and Master Frodo weren’t snooty like those Sackville-Bagginses, always with their noses in the air, and that he was always welcomed at Bag End, but he knew better than to argue. He’d be going back to work at Bag End on Monday, so he’d just have to wait until then to see his friends, even if the Gaffer would give him a tongue-lashing if he knew Sam thought of them that way.

“The idea that Mr. Bilbo or the young master would want to spend time with you when they didn’t have to,” the Gaffer went on, unable to stop himself, even though the discussion should have ended at the mention of his losing his gardening job. “Why it’s the most foolish thing I’ve ever heard.”

He might have continued raving if not for a polite knock at the door of the Gamgee home. When he opened the door, the Gaffer came face-to-face with Frodo Baggins, Mr. Bilbo’s heir. The young master was dressed in his Sunday finery and carrying a book, something he often did.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Gamgee, Mrs. Gamgee,” Frodo said with a small bow. “Forgive the interruption, but it’s such a beautiful day, I thought you might allow Sam to accompany me on a walk. Would you be amenable to that?”

It was all Sam could do to stop himself from running to Frodo and giving him a hug, but he waited for his father’s response. The Gaffer would surely be angry that Sam appeared to be right about his employer, especially since Bell Gamgee had her hand to her mouth to hide her grin.

Trying to save face, the Gaffer asked, “If my Sam asked you to come here, Master Frodo, you can be sure he’ll be punished.”

“Sam didn’t ask anything of me, Mr. Gamgee,” Frodo assured him. “Coming here was my idea. I very much enjoy the time I spend with Sam. So do I have your permission to take him with me?”

Hamfast Gamgee saw no way out but to agree to the younger Baggins’s request and say yes. His being proven wrong by his own son wasn’t helped by the fact that Sam was less successful than his mother at hiding his grin.

The Gaffer’s last thought as he saw his son walking, his hand in Frodo’s, was that they might be his betters, but the Bagginses surely were the queerest of folk.


End file.
